Many historical buildings in the Zanzibar town are in bad condition and risk collapse due to lack of maintenance, residents and stakeholders of the historical sites said here on Monday (December 28, 2020).
They said this during a meeting with Zanzibar President Hussein Mwinyi, who in a swift response, promised to form a probe team as soon as possible to look into the problem and advice accordingly.
"The incidents of buildings collapse is due to lack of maintenance, lack of funds, poor management, violation of master plan, negligence and substandard construction materials," said one of the residents Mr. Salim Said Salim.
Dr. Mwinyi convened the meeting following last Friday's collapse of a famous 'House of Wonders' building.
Two people were killed in the accidents, while four others were injured. All were workers on site when the building collapsed. The building was undergoing major repair after almost a decade of closure after the first portion of the building collapsed in 2011.
During the discussion held at the Sheikh Idrisa Abdulwakil multipurpose Hall, some of the speakers also mentioned lack of seriousness in conserving the UNESCO heritage site with ageing buildings.
Senior officers from UNESCO, Oman Consulate General in Zanzibar, and Agakhan Foundation who have been providing support to the conservation also attended the meeting.
In response to the views, Dr. Mwinyi declared immediate start of serious commitments in conservation effort to include establishment of the probe team and funds to be disbursed by the Government and other development partners to repair the ageing buildings.
"I will not have much to say today as I wanted to hear your views. It is unfortunate that we have lost our icon! It is high time we restore and conserve our heritage sites," Dr. Mwinyi said.
He said the probe team will be provided with terms of reference because the Government wants to get a detailed report on how to move forward in maintaining the historical town. The attendees observed a one minute silence to remember the victims of the collapsed building.
President Mwinyi thanked the rescue team and tasked the probe team to be formed to identify all houses in danger of collapse, current use of the buildings and movements of vehicles (causing vibration) to minimise the risks mentioned by residents.
He said that buildings which are not safe should be closed and people shifted to other safe areas to pave way for renovations.
The Oman Government is supporting the renovation of the House of Wonders, but other development partners have expressed interest to conserve the stone town, one of the tourists' attraction sites in Zanzibar.
According to the 'Zanzibar Stone Town Heritage Conservation Authority' (ZSTHCA) Director General (DG) Mr. Issa Sariboko, out of more than two thousand historical buildings, there are about 26 grade 1 buildings (highly conserved its nature) and 223 buildings (minor changes allowed).
"Most of these buildings need repair but shortage of funds and skilled labour remain a challenge in conservation efforts," Mr. Sariboko said.
The Minister of Tourism and Heritage Ms. Lela Mohamed Mussa said at the meeting that the Government will spare no effort to try to restore the 'House of Wonders' along with maintaining other buildings in the Stone Town partly affected by the growing population.